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Weekend Getaway to Peekskill, New York

The wife and I are car-free in New York City, so when the subject of a weekend getaway comes up, we either have to get creative or stay close to home. Luckily, with Metro-North, Long Island Railroad, or even a trip to the end of the subway line we can get away both affordably and without getting stuck in traffic. Given our shared love for exploring and my slight transit-nerdiness, this leaves us many places to visit and too little time.

Arriving

For her birthday weekend, we placed a pin on the map where I found a craft brewery next to a commuter rail stop and decided to visit Peekskill, NY, a beautiful little town in north-western Westchester County right on the Hudson River. Knowing nothing about the town other than its location.



Peekskill is on Metro-North's Hudson line, only slightly over an hour from Grand Central Terminal. Day-hiking destinations Breakneck Ridge and Garrison are located on the same line, with express departures at 7:48 and 8:48am on Saturdays for the outdoors crowd. Bear Mountain is only a short ride across the river from town and on our list of must-visit camping destinations within easy reach of the city.

Saturday

Our jam-packed Saturday began with a trip to the small farmers market downtown, followed by a good standard pancakes-eggs-bacon at Burger Diner. Nicely, they also offer whole wheat pancakes and turkey bacon if you're looking to be healthy. I was not and had some great banana-and-blueberry pancakes. Unfortunately we didn't linger long enough to try Kathleen's Tea Room, though the decor and grandma's living room vibe made me want to hang out with a good book.

After meeting our incomparable CouchSurfing hosts, Susan and Glenn we did some grocery shopping before she led us back to  home. We picked up a number of hard-to-find Mexican snacks, sauces, and spices from the local Latin supermarket, which also sells whole chickens - head and all - and other traditional specialties. Another traveling couple, Andre and Natalie from Germany, were staying the night as well, Andre being on a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail and needing to rest his legs and his girlfriend joining him for a few weeks along the way.

The six of us went back to downtown Peekskill to soak up the music from the weekend festival that we lucked out on. The day's activities centered around the Paramount Theater, an old movie house from the 1930s, now a multi-purpose venue. The biggest surprise was that in this small town there are at least half a dozen live music venues, and we heard R&B, rock covers, jam band, and bluegrass all in the same evening.

Dinner was at Birdsall House (website, Yelp), which has locally sourced food and a craft beer menu to match any I've seen, including the latest Hill Farmstead (VT) release, the Mary pilsner. To end the night, we had coffee and listened to the strumming of banjo and mandolin at the Peekskill Coffee House before walking back in a steady, cool rain.

Sunday

Waking refreshed to a leisurely breakfast and an afternoon departure, we couldn't depart before visiting Hudson Creamery (Yelp) for some homemade ice cream and Peekskill Brewery (website, BeerAdvocate) for a handful of some of the tastiest craft beers we've had in the NYC area, paired with a skillet of poutine - fries, cheese curds, gravy, and topped with a burger. The Galaxy-hopped Amazeballs American Pale Ale really stood out.

After lounging along the river, we caught one of the numerous express trains back to Grand Central, and just like that we left small-town suburban Peekskill for the hustle and bustle of the city. We hope to return again soon for a breath of fresh air.

New York Breweries: Queens (Part II)

This entry is a continuation of a series on breweries in Brooklyn and Queens. You can download my hand-drawn brewery tour map here and follow along.

Inspired by a meeting of the New York Homebrewers Guild (every third Tuesday at Burp Castle, 41 E 7th St, New York, NY), this trip, an attempt to visit all the micro- and nanobreweries within New York City has stretched over the course of four weekends and counting.





SingleCut Beersmiths (website, 19-33 37th St., Astoria, Queens), is a short hike from the last stop on the N/Q at Astoria-Ditmars and the famous Bohemian Beer Hall (website, 2919 24th Ave, Astoria, Queens) and well worth the walk. By New York standards, it feels like the end of the earth, since the area is surrounded by grass and not far from a power plant and LaGuardia Airport, though the building itself feels new, open to the good weather, and overall an inviting place to have a few beers. Their bar area is stocked with free board and card games and they keep classic vinyl on the turntable.

The beer does not disappoint either. At the time of our visit in May the beer lineup included, most memorably, both the Hibiscus and Tart Cherry Sour Lagrrr! and the piney hopped Dean PNW Mahogany Ale. Their beers tended towards the light and drinkable, with a few hop-bombs thrown in for good measure, such as the latter beer mentioned above. Their brews can be found across the city as well, including at one of my favorites, Drop-Off Service (Yelp, 211 Avenue A, Manhattan), home of the $3 'til 8pm craft beer happy hour.

LIC Beer Project (website, 39-28 23rd St., Long Island City, Queens), is a small brewery space tucked in between the auto repair and warehouses of Long Island City. Their small selection was heavy on saisons at the time, which I usually prefer in a bottle and aged to smooth out the bite. Their WonderLIC Belgian pale ale, however, was a great treat, full of floral dry-hoppiness and not too heavy on the bitter or the alcohol. Worth a trip if you're in the neighborhood or if they're unveiling a big beer. All in all, the last in a series of quality offerings in between the skyscrapers going up in LIC.

New York Breweries: Brooklyn (Part II)

This entry is a continuation of the posts on breweries in Brooklyn and Queens and we will pick up on the third Saturday. You can download my hand-drawn brewery map here and follow along.

Inspired by a meeting of the New York Homebrewers Guild (every third Tuesday at Burp Castle, 41 E 7th St, New York, NY), this trip, an attempt to visit all the micro- and nanobreweries within New York City has stretched over the course of three weekends and counting.



Arriving via the Bedford Av (L) train, the third weekend of our New York City beer tour began with an 11am brunch at Five Leaves (website, Yelp, 18 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY). I can say this place is home to possibly the best pancakes I've ever had: light, yet moist, and served with just the right amount of cinnamon butter and fresh fruit on top. The secret ingredient and key to the pancake batter was, incredibly, ricotta cheese, a food that I've strongly disliked since ricotta-heavy lasagna in childhood. Whatever the reason, it works really well in pancakes (!)

Dirck the Norseman (website, 7 N 15th St, Brooklyn, NY), the next and only stop on our beer tour this Saturday, was less than a ten-minute walk from the restaurant. Spacious and newly renovated, the space could stand on its own as a food or live music venue, of which it has both. Though we were here to sample the production of Greenpoint Beer and Ale Works (beer menu). The selection included mostly low-alcohol sessionable lagers and ales, with a focus on classic German styles like kolsch, rauchbier, Berliner weisse, and doppelbock, or at least it did at the time. See my notes on the afternoon below:

Paola spent the afternoon sketching and enjoying the weather and the garage door-style windows that open up to the outside. The sketch below was inspired by one of the other bar patrons and she gave it as a gift (it turned out it was the girl's birthday!):

I also took a stab at sketching, inspired by the moment:

On the walk back to the subway, you pass through some industrial and semi-abandoned areas, lots of prime real estate for some creative Banksy-esque graffiti:

We'll have to return, if not for the brewery tour (yes, I know they're all basically the same, but this one has beer tastings) then for the live music at night.

Dream Trip: Mongol Rally

A road rally (video) beginning in England, passing through Prague, and continuing through Europe and across Asia to Mongolia. There are only three rules:

1. You can only take a farcically small vehicle
2. You’re completely on your own
3. You've got to raise a £1000 for charity

This idea of the Mongol Rally (official site) has been stuck in my head since I learned about it several months ago.

For someone that was one of the early adopters of CouchSurfing (in 2006), I'm surprised that I didn't learn about such a cool idea as the Mongol Rally until now, given that its inaugural run was in 2004. It is, in essence, an organized, yet disorganized road trip to end all road trips. Visit as many or as few countries as necessary to reach your final destination, go as quick or as slow as you decide. Here is one of the easier potential routes, below.

This is what they have to say about the vehicle specifications:

You must bring the shittiest rolling turd of a car you can find. Use a car you swapped for a bag of crisps. Seek out a steed that most people wouldn’t even use for the weekly shop. Better still, come along on a scooter.

After all, an adventure is only an adventure when things go wrong. Where in the name of Uranus would the fun be in cruising 10,000 miles in a 4x4? If you look at your vehicle and think; "This is the right car for crossing a desert," then you've got it badly wrong.

Wussy wagons are Out. Shitmobiles are In.

After watching at least a half-dozen unofficial videos from various Rally teams on YouTube and reading several long-format write-ups, it appears that:

• Several major repairs will likely be needed along the 10,000-km journey;
• You will change possibly dozens of tires;
• Extreme boredom may entice you to ride outside (i.e. on top of) the vehicle;
• Bribes may be necessary once local officials realize your fantastically embellished crapmobile means you're adventurers from Western Europe or some other prosperous region.

I'm incredibly intrigued and wish I could pull together a team, or at least Paola and myself, and find the 1-2 months necessary to complete the full trip. It can be done cheaply, or so I've read. This year's Rally begins on July 19, 2015.

Here are a few sources that I found entertaining:

• Driving to Mongolia: How I Drove from UK to Mongolia in a Shitty Car (journal)
• Mongol Rally 2013 - Team Dingo Babies & Drop Bears (long-format video)
• Mongol Rally 2013 - The Motoring Monks (long-format video)
• The Adventurists' YouTube Channel
• The Cars of the 2014 Mongol Rally
• Travel bloggers The Planet D attempt the Mongol Rally

From vochoverde.wordpress.com

If it were up to me, I'd start my own rally from Mexico through Central and South America using nothing but old vochos (VW Beetles) bought across the border from California. For that matter, if we could get one of these underpowered VWs to England, it could also be used to drive to Mongolia.

Anyone game to join someday soon?

New York Breweries: Queens

This entry is a continuation of last week's post on breweries in Brooklyn and we will pick up on the second Saturday. You can download my hand-drawn brewery map here and follow along.

Inspired by a meeting of the New York Homebrewers Guild (every third Tuesday at Burp Castle, 41 E 7th St, New York, NY), this trip, an attempt to visit all the micro- and nanobreweries within New York City has stretched over the course of two weekends and counting.

Promotional map from NYC Beer Week

After departing Brooklyn Brewery and a walk along picturesque Manhattan Ave. in Greenpoint, we went up and over the Pulaski Bridge into Long Island City. For those of you unfamiliar with LIC, it's an industrial area that contains much of the machinery that makes the densest areas of Manhattan habitable: taxi bases, recycling centers, distribution centers, repair and construction businesses, and light manufacturing. It is also undergoing an impressive highrise condo boom, with skyscrapers mixed in among low-slung brick buildings. 

A healthy lunch at Rockaway Brewing Co.

Transmitter Brewing (website, 195 Centre St, Brooklyn, NY) blends in with this mix of industrial uses. It's a small building with a small tasting area not much bigger than a bedroom in the East Village. The beers here are poured from the bottles in which they have been bottle-fermented. They offer a small range of summery farmhouse and sour styles, which I wasn't really feeling at the time, the weather being cold and rainy, however their innovative Community Supported Brewery program has me wanting to support to see what they brew next. Much like a CSA, members pay in advance for a selection of beers over six months. This is something I've never seen and hopefully allows them to capitalize their brewery and expand their offerings.

A short ten-minute walk took us to our next stop, Rockaway Brewing Company (website, 46-01 5th St., Long Island City, Queens, NY). From reading older reviews on Yelp, it seems that they've been doing a lot of work to make the place inviting, and it shows: the space is big and spacious and feels like you're either at the beach (based on the stuff lining the walls) or in a factory (polished concrete floors). Their beers tend towards the mild and drinkable, with a few nice malt-heavy options. Their stout was amazing, looking forward to when we can get it in bottles and not just in growlers from the bewery. Best of all, free Cape Cod potato chips! Can't wait until they figure out how to add a patio or deck somewhere for the summer months.

Big beer board at Big Alice

Another short ten-minute hop took us to Big Alice Brewing (website, 8-08 43rd Rd., Long Island City, Queens, NY). This place is small but looks shiny and brand-new. Wood bars and black chalkboards memorializing current and former beers line the walls. Overflow space is alongside the brewing equipment on the other side of the walls. Of all the breweries on our tour, Big Alice had the most innovative beers. Among the most memorable was the Salted Caramel beer, which was sweet and sour (in a beery way) and the Queens Honey Brown, made with real honey. We also had a smoked saison, aka "bacon beer" for its tasty smoked smell, and a White Coffee Stout, which I couldn't really pinpoint as a coffee-flavored beer or a stout given its light color and smooth finish.

We haven't quite exhausted what New York City has to offer, so there will be at least one more Saturday beer tour. Here are the breweries we have yet to see in Queens:

• SingleCut Brewsmiths (website, 19-33 37th St., Astoria, Queens, NY) an innovative new brewery at the end of the (N)(Q) in Astoria-Ditmars with hoppy yet sessionable beers;
• Finback Brewery (website, 7801 77th Ave., Ridgewood, NY). I don't know much about them other than people love them on BeerAdvocate and Yelp and I hear they have a huge space.

Coming soon, the remaining breweries in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.

New York Breweries: Brooklyn

Ready for a Saturday beer tour, just print and go.

Believe it or not, there's more to microbrewing in New York City than Brooklyn Brewery.

Inspired by a meeting of the New York Homebrewers Guild (every third Tuesday at Burp Castle, 41 E 7th St, New York, NY), this trip, an attempt to visit all the micro- and nanobreweries within New York City has stretched over the course of two weekends and counting. The majority of the breweries shown on the map below can be reached with minimal walking and a trip along the G train, with its 4-car trains, the redheaded stepchild of the MTA. Your starting station, Smith-9th Sts is one of the more picturesque stations in the system.

You can print and use the hand-drawn map below to plan your own trip. We started in Southern Brooklyn and worked our way north, though you could also start in Long Island City, Queens and head south.

First Saturday

Our first weekend began with brunch at Buttermilk Channel (website, Yelp). No chicken and waffles for breakfast, but say hello to chicken and pork schnitzel. Highly recommended.

Enjoying the first one of the day at Other Half Brewing

Once fueled up, we headed to Other Half Brewing (website, 195 Centre St, Brooklyn, NY). An unmarked door across the street from McDonalds was the entryway to this small tasting room and brewery. We figured it out by following the families with babies in tow into the unmarked industrial building. They offer samples, full pours and growlers of a selection of hop-heavy beers and regularly sell tallboy cans of their IPA. Growlers are returnable (!) to encourage repeat customers. We'll be going back for sure.

Next stop, after a 20- to 30-minute walk, was Threes Brewing in Gowanus (website, 333 Douglass St., Brooklyn, NY), a short walk from Atlantic Avenue station in Downtown Brooklyn. Threes had a deep selection of flavorful, drinkable session IPAs, saisons, and a Berliner weisse. The space is expansive, with plenty of seating, big long tables, and an outdoor patio area for the summer months. For the non-beer drinkers, they also have a food menu and a cafe on location. We've already been back here once since our initial visit.

Second Saturday

 

Beer brunch at Keg & Lantern hit the spot.

Our second weekend started on a rainy Saturday at 11am at Keg & Lantern (website, 97 Nassau Ave., Brooklyn, NY), reachable at the Nassau Av (G) stop. The brewmaster at this brewpub, P.J., was the guest speaker at the NYHBG meeting on the night I was inspired to plan this pilgrimage, so of course his home brewery had to make the list. After a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and sausage and a half-pint of beer, we were able to check out the all-electric brewing setup in the basement of the building. Beers here are very drinkable and change often, so we'll be back.

The next stop was a 10-minute walk to the iconic Brooklyn Brewery (website, 79 N 11th St., Brooklyn, NY). Being iconic and well-known also makes you crowded. Wait in a long line, get inside, buy your tokens, 5 beers for $20, and wait in line again. The pluses of Brooklyn Brewery are its dirt-cheap pints ($4), Brewery-exclusive beers, and their Brooklyn logo gear, of which I've purchased one of their metal signs ($15). On their short brewery tour we learned that Milton Glaser (of I heart New York fame) designed the logo 28 years ago and was paid in beer for life.

Near Brooklyn Brewery and not yet visited are:

• Torst (website, Yelp, 615 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY), the bar from Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, the cult brewer behind Denmark's Evil Twin. Not exactly a brewery or brewpub, though features beer from Evil Twin.
• Dirck the Norseman (website, Yelp, 7 N 15th St., Brooklyn, NY), a German-style beer hall with food and drink from Greenpoint Beer and Ale Company.

Our tour continued along Manhattan Ave. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and over the Pulaski Bridge to Long Island City, Queens, detailed in the next entry.